Infant Hand and Forearm Mittens

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an infant hand covering having an enclosed distal end for accepting a child&#39;s hand and fingers, along with an elongated forearm portion extending from the mitten distal end along the child&#39;s arm before terminating at a closure means that secures the open end of the forearm portion against the child&#39;s forearm or upper arm. The enclosed mitten portion provides a barrier that protects the infant from scratching or poking itself, while the elongated forearm portion provides a means to secure the mitten to the infant&#39;s hand without becoming easily dislodged with movement. The closure means places a small amount of compression on the infant&#39;s arm to secure the forearm termination in place, while its elongated structure allows freedom of motion without ready movement of its terminal end.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/590,541 filed on Jan. 25, 2012, entitled “Baby Safe Mittens.” The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to infant clothing and hand covers. More specifically, the present invention pertains to an infant mitten or hand covering that prevents the child from scratching himself while preventing the mitten from easily dislodging from the child's hand when deployed.

In the first few months of an infant's life, the child's finger nails grow rapidly and the child has minimal motor skills to control movement of their hands and fingers. A common occurrence parents find is that the child tends to scratch themselves with their own finger nails if left uncovered and the child unoccupied. Their fingers can also be a poke hazard to the infant's eyes if not covered. For this reason it is common to wrap an infant's hands within the interior of an outer wrapping or blanket, preventing the child from squirming or moving their hands towards their face. Another common solution to this problem is the use of hand coverings over both of the infant's hands. These hand coverings serve as a barrier between the child's face and his or her fingers, preventing eye pokes and face scratches that may otherwise result.

Infant hand coverings, gloves and mittens are common in the art for preventing facial injury to a child when very young. One of primary drawbacks to these devices is the high likelihood of the hand covering to become removed from the infant's hands over a period of time. Without constant vigilance, these coverings can become removed and prevented from fulfilling their intended benefit. Most hand coverings include a finger and hand covering portion and a terminal end closure that extends around and secures to the infant's wrist areas. The size of the infant's hands and wrist at this point in life makes securement at this area unreliable, as the infant's small hand can easily overcome a wrist compression closure keeping the assembly attached.

The present invention is therefore introduced as a new and improved infant hand covering device that applies a unitary mitten over the infant's hand and fingers, while an elongated forearm extension portion extends from the infant's wrist upwards along his or her forearm. The extended section of material and a securement cuff away from the child's wrist prevents ease of removal caused by hand movement or tangling with other blankets. The mitten termination is positioned along the infant's forearm or upper arm, whereby a securement means in the form of a compression cuff or similar closure means applies compression to the infant's arm to prevent sliding of this end along the infant's arm and over the infant's hand without parental support. The result is a hand covering that provides a scratching and poking barrier that is much more resistant to removal through unwanted means, including movement and tangling with other blankets.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to child hand covering devices. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications, and generally relate to hand coverings and gloves having a wrist cuff termination or gloves of different structure than that of the present invention. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.

Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,057 to Fetner discloses an infant mitten that facilitates placement over a moving or closed hand of a child. The device includes a side opening that is closeable with a fold-over flap, securable with a releasable closure such as hook and loop fastening. A first and second complimentary member is overlaid to establish an interior volume within which the infant's hand is placed. The members are secured along their top and side edges, and provide a wide side opening to position the child's hand and wrap thereover. The Fetner device, while disclosing an infant mitten, provides no upper forearm support to prevent the child from easily removing the mitten after placement. Without a sufficiently tight wrapping, the Fetner device is one that can be removed with relative ease compared to the elongated structure of the present invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,139,897 to Kessler discloses an infant hand protector that comprises a hand mitten having a wrist closure strap. The mitten is slipped over the infant's hand, fingers entering the interior portion and the thumb entering a thumb portion. The wrist section is then drawn together with tie strap to maintain the position of the mitten on the child's hand. The interior of the mitten is sub-divided into a finger and palm section and a thumb-receiving portion. Contrary to the present invention, the Kessler device provides a mitten that terminates at the child's wrist, proving a closure tie to secure the mitten thereto. This type of tie is either too loose or too tight, cutting off circulation to the child's hand. The present invention provides a forearm extension that prevents the mitten from dislodging while improving comfort and compliance.

Further, U.S. Published Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0244806 to Johnson discloses a child's mitten that includes a finger region and an adjacent thumb region separated by a notch in the material when laid flat. A cinch arrangement below the thumb region is utilized to secure the base of the mitten to the child's wrist and to secure the thumb portion of the mitten against the wear's thumb. The thumb portion is an angled catch internally separating this portion from the finger portion, while the cinch secures the child's thumb in the thumb region and the overall mitten to the wearer's wrist. Similar to the Kessler device, the Johnson disclosure fails to provide adequate securement of the mitten beyond the wearer's wrist section, which is prone to slip over the wearer's hand when deployed and separate therefrom.

Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,534 to Clough discloses a mitten for use by a child playing in snow. The mitten prevents snow from contacting the wearer's arms between the ends of a coat and the base of a glove, wherein the mitten comprises an elongated shielding sleeve that extends a major portion of a young child's forearm. The shielding sleeve comprises an expanding material such that it stretches to conform to the wearer's forearm. The sleeve, however, provides no additional means of securing the mitten to the wearer, and is merely an additional cover or shield against snow while outdoors. The present invention provides a mitten having an elongated sleeve and a means to secure the sleeve to the wearer's forearm to prevent separation of the mitten from the wearer's hand. The present invention is intended for use with infants for shielding their fingers from their faces while they are young.

The present invention provides a mitten hand covering with a unitary interior volume to accept an infant's hand and fingers, while a forearm extension member places the securement of the mitten higher along the infant's arm than typical wrist closure means for mittens of this type. It is substantially that the present invention diverges in design elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing infant mitten hand covering devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of infant mitten hand covering devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new infant hand covering that can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when applying a cover over an infant's hand and preventing the mitten from dislodging therefrom due to movement or tangling with other blankets.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved infant mitten hand covering device that has all of the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an infant mitten hand covering device that provides a barrier between an infant's fingers and their face while in use to prevent poking or scratching injury.

Another object of the present invention to provide an infant mitten hand covering device that includes a unitary hand covering that encloses an infant's hand and fingers therein, therefrom attaching to an extended forearm portion that prevents ready dislodgement of the mitten.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an infant mitten hand covering device that attaches along the infant's forearm or upper arm region to prevent movement of the infant's hands or tangling of the mitten with blankets to remove the mitten from the infant.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an infant mitten hand covering device that is soft to the touch both along its inner and outer surface, along with a compression cuff closure means along the infant's arm.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the present infant mitten.

FIG. 2 shows a view of the present infant mitten in a working state, secured to both infant's hands.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the infant mitten hand covering device. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, the preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for preventing poking or scratching of an infant by way of his or her fingers, and further for preventing dislodgment of the covering during use. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of the infant hand covering of the present invention. The device comprises a hand covering portion 11 and an elongated forearm extension member 12 that extends from the base of the hand covering portion 11 and terminates at an arm or forearm securement cuff 14. The hand covering portion 11 comprises an enclosed volume adapted to surround and shroud an infant's hand and fingers within a single, unitary structure similar to a mitten. No finger portions are provided in the preferred embodiment, but rather a singular enclosure for the infant's entire hand is preferable for ease of placement thereover. Infants have very small fingers and tend to ball their hands into a fist quite frequently, therefore a hand covering having finger portions may not be easy to deploy or a practical configuration.

The hand covering portion 11 is a rounded enclosure that connects to a reduced wrist portion, where the covering flows therefrom and into a forearm extension member 12. This member 12 is an elongated and hollow member that allows coverage over from an infant's wrist region and along the infant's forearm. The termination of the extension member 12 is adapted to rest near the child's elbow or higher along his or her arm to prevent the mitten from easily becoming dislodged due to child movement or tangling with other blankets. At the intersection of the mitten 11 and the forearm extension 12 is a wrist region having a reduced internal cross section for placement and securement over an infant's wrist area. This compressed region maintains the position of the hand covering 11 over the child's hand and prevents the child's hand from being pulled therefrom and into the forearm portion 12.

The extension member 12 terminates at a compression cuff or similar circumferential securement means extending around the extension member opening. There are several embodiments that are contemplated by the present invention. The simplest of these is a circular compression cuff that places a small amount of compressive pressure onto the infant's forearm or upper arm to maintain the cuff location along the infant's arm without cutting off circulation or causing irritation. A second embodiment, and as visualized in FIG. 1, is a detachable strap securement means. This embodiment may include a strip 15 of hook and loop fastening material, a button or snap securement or finally a drawstring securement means. This embodiment allows the cuff to be manually applied by a caretaker, while the compression cuff relies on the inherent compression supplied by an internal elastic band or similar material within the cuff termination. A longitudinal slit 13 may be supplied along this termination, extending from the extension member opening and towards the hand covering portion 11 along the extension member 12. This slit 13 provides a means to expand the device opening to slide an infant's hand and arm therethrough without bunching.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the goal of the present invention is to provide a protective barrier between an infant's fingers and their face, as it is common for young infants to unintentionally scratch and poke themselves due to lack of motor skills and uncontrolled hand movement. The sleeve or hand covering of the present invention includes a hand covering mitten portion 11 and a forearm or arm extension portion 12 that travels along the infant's arm for the purpose of placing the securement means higher along the child's arm than those hand coverings merely having a wrist area securement location, whereby the present invention prevents unwanted removal during deployment beyond that capable of existing infant hand coverings. Once applied, the mitten stays in place in part from the extension securement means along its terminal end, and further because of the length of travel necessary for this end to be removed over the hand or wrist portion of the child. Placement of the securement means higher on the arm prevents ready removal and prevents the mitten from simply sliding off of the child's hands due to tugging or tangling. The overall construction of the device is one of a tubular member having a closed end forming a mitten and an open end forming the forearm extension opening, whereby between a wrist portion reduces the cross section at the termination of the mitten and a securement means secures the open end of the member along the infant's forearm or upper arm.

The material of the present invention is designed to be both comfortable and durable. The material both inside 14 and along the outer surface of the device is one that is soft to the touch, as the mitten will often be placed in contact with the child's face, and therefore the mitten must first shield the child from his or her own fingers but also prevent rubbing or scratching injury. Since the mitten is not specifically for outdoor use, the material may be a unitary or back-to-back cotton or lining material, as opposed to outdoor gloves or mittens that have a shell exterior and a soft inner lining. The present invention is contemplated for indoor use or use within a child carrier or crib, therefore weather elements do not pose a problem and the primary concern of the mitten is touch comfort both inside and out. Cost of production and desired material by the user may dictate the exact material, therefore it is merely desired that the material both along the interior and exterior surface be of a comfortable material to the touch and feel of an infant when deployed.

In light of the present disclosure and the related prior art, it is submitted that the instant invention provides a new and novel hand covering for use with an infant child. The device has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

I claim: 1) An infant hand covering, comprising: a mitten hand covering portion having an enclosed volume and terminating at a wrist portion; a forearm extension member extending from said wrist portion; said extension member comprising an elongated and hollow member terminating at an opening having a securement means for compressing said opening to maintain said opening location along an infant's forearm or upper arm. 2) The device of claim 1, wherein said mitten hand covering comprises an enclosed volume adapted to house an infant's hand and fingers therein without individual finger locations. 3) The device of claim 1, wherein said wrist portion comprises a location of reduced cross section to maintain said hand covering placement over an infant's hand and fingers. 4) The device of claim 1, wherein said extension member open further comprises a slit extending therefrom along said extension to provide an increased extension member opening. 5) The device of claim 1, wherein said securement means further comprises a compression cuff having an internal elastic member. 6) The device of claim 1, wherein said securement means further comprises a strip of hook and loop fasteners. 7) The device of claim 1, wherein said securement means further comprises a tie string attachment. 8) The device of claim 1, wherein said securement means further comprises a button attachment. 